One month later.
At the Yorozuya, Satoshi's body had mostly recovered, and Yuki had already returned to the Tombs of the Star to report everything to Tengen.
In another three days, Satoshi would personally head to the Tombs of the Star to meet Tengen.
During this time, in addition to healing, Satoshi also began learning Hohō from Satoru.
Satoru, who had mastered the Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue, could indeed be called the fastest sorcerer alive.
Although Satoshi couldn't use Limitless, with the aid of Six Eyes, he analyzed the core of Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue and successfully adapted it into a movement technique for himself.
After a month of focused training, Satoshi's Hohō improved dramatically, and his combat flexibility also reached new heights.
Even when sparring with Toji, Satoshi's use of Hohō made it difficult for him to keep up.
Satoshi didn't overthink his relationship with Yuki. This visit to the Tombs of the Star had two goals: resolving Tengen's Star Plasma Vessel problem and preparing to claim both Tengen and Yuki as experience leeks.
Gaining experience from an immortal sorcerer like Tengen and a future Special Grade like Yuki… Satoshi could already imagine the rewards waiting for him.
He had a rough idea of how to forge a Zanpakutō for Tengen, but when it came to forging one for Yuki, nothing had clicked yet.
Creating a Zanpakutō for Tengen could drastically alter the future.
If Tengen no longer needed to assimilate with a Star Plasma Vessel, then Satoru and Suguru would never be assigned to protect Amanai Riko. That in turn meant Geto Suguru wouldn't spiral into despair over her death.
Of course, with Geto's extreme ideology, he might still eventually follow the path of purging humanity, but at the very least, it could be postponed for a few years.
Maybe by then, Satoshi could find a way to eliminate curses completely...
He looked at Toji and Satoru resting nearby and shook his head.
In the end, I'm the one carrying everything alone.
The reason they can coexist peacefully now is all thanks to me.
...
Meanwhile, the news that Satoshi had been summoned by the Tombs of the Star shocked the jujutsu world.
People were already stunned when they learned that Satoshi's girlfriend was a Star Plasma Vessel, but now, Tengen had personally summoned Satoshi. That was almost unthinkable.
After all, in the past hundred years, no one aside from the Star Plasma Vessel had been allowed into the Tombs of the Star.
Was Satoshi about to become the first outsider to step into the Tombs in over a century?
---
Yagyū Clan.
Yagyū Yusuke looked incredibly fortunate.
"Good thing we built a good relationship with Satoshi early on. Being summoned by Lord Tengen himself… His Zanpakutō must have been acknowledged."
Yagyū Saemon and Yagyū Hidetsugu nodded repeatedly beside him.
They had already recognized Satoshi, so anything related to him was viewed from a positive light.
"Saemon, has your Nejibana reached the level of Bankai yet? As the only Zanpakutō outside of the Big Three Sorcerer Families, you need to give it your all. Don't bring shame to Lord Satoshi."
Yusuke was grateful that he had handed over "Tsuki no Sho" to Satoshi under Hidetsugu's urging. In return, they'd received the Zanpakutō Nejibana.
If he had hesitated back then, the Yagyū clan would have missed out on an opportunity of a lifetime.
Faced with his clan head's expectations, Saemon's expression turned serious.
Compared to Yusuke, he felt even more pressure. He wanted to attain Bankai badly, to stand beside Satoshi's strength. But the path to Bankai was incredibly difficult.
Even after a full month, he hadn't made any real progress.
Seeing the look on his face, Yusuke could already guess the result.
The only small comfort was that not even Satoru's Senbonzakura or Toji's Katen Kyōkotsu had achieved Bankai yet.
Currently, the only one who had achieved Bankai was Satoshi. As the forger of Zanpakutō, it made sense that he was ahead of everyone else.
"We need to stay focused. That said, the Association wants you to take on another exorcism mission. Do you want me to help you turn it down?"
Though Hidetsugu couldn't help with Bankai, he could clear some obstacles for Saemon.
After thinking for a moment, Saemon shook his head.
"No need. Lord Satoshi achieved Bankai with Sode no Shirayuki during a real battle. Maybe those missions will help me grasp the essence of Bankai."
"Sitting at home won't make a breakthrough. Might as well go and complete the Association's missions."
He gently ran his fingers over the blade of Nejibana, eyes full of longing.
But no matter how much desire he poured into it, Nejibana gave no response.
Clearly, the road to Bankai was still far off.
On the other hand, many smaller sorcerer families had begun reallocating the resources they had prepared. Satoshi being summoned by Tengen meant he was worth serious investment.
These minor clans had previously been rejected by the Gojo clan. They understood clearly—if the offer wasn't good enough, they wouldn't even be able to meet Satoshi, let alone receive a Zanpakutō.
As for the Zenin clan, which had ongoing friction with the Gojo family, they were filled with resentment.
In their view, Satoshi was only being summoned to the Tombs of the Star because of his Star Plasma Vessel girlfriend.
Even as the Six Eyes prodigy of the Gojo clan, he had no right to covet the Star Plasma Vessel.
That vessel was the key to Tengen's future assimilation. For someone like Satoshi to be involved with Yuki was nothing short of blasphemy.
To them, there was no way Tengen would let Satoshi off.
This summoning was clearly meant to punish him.
Speculation around what would happen to Satoshi at the Tombs of the Star ran rampant.
No one could guess what kind of news he would bring back from that meeting...
(To be continued.)
***
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